they finally picked up the phone. >> tonight, abc action news reporter sarah rosario is taking action to find out why it too so long. sarah. >> reporter: so 911 is the three numbers we all know to call to get immediate help. right? that didn't work for one woman who saw someone else driving towards her on this on-ramp to 75, forcing her to call for help three times. >> if this was a life or death call, i would have died. >> reporter: nicole elliot can't believe her eyes after a semi-truck barely missing another driver going the wrong way on this on-ramp in wesley chapel. >> i didn't know if he had come off of 75. how long he had been driving the wrong way. it floored me. i don't understand how this happens so often here. >> reporter: she immediately calls 911. >> it rang about 50 times and cut me off. she tries two more times and finally gets through.

give the operator the tag, make and model but is told there is nothing that they can do. intoxicated and he said unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about it. >> reporter: elliot takes to facebook, getting more than 70 comments in less than 24 hours. situations. this woman says it took two tries to get an operator last heart troubles. >> if you only have one chance to call, that call needs to be answered. >> reporter: the county says it only received one call from elliot's number, saying the other calls were likely dropped. records show it rang for more than one minute before an operator answered. in a statement the acting # 11 director says the goal is 20 seconds or less. the county admits it is short staffed, telling us that they have to prioritize calls. even a deputy responding to the post says they are doing the best they can with the resources they have. >> that needs to be fixed. the person holding the finances for that needs to readjust priorities because 911 is

have to sacrifice. >> reporter: and we contacted the county again. they say they are working to hire those 911 operators. and they also tell us the employees they do have working are working overtime during peak call times. reporting live in wesley chapel, sarah rosario, abc action news. >> thank you sarah. this comes days after a deputy was killed after protecting another couple from a wrong-way driver. the funeral will be held this friday. a memorial fund has been set up to help the family. if you would like to contribute, we have all of the information that you need on our website. head over to abcactionnews.com. and happening right now, police are desperately searching for an arsonist who is setting dangerous fires in a st. pete neighborhood. it's been happening in a six- block range in the crescent lake region the past few months. the majority of the fires have been set in dumpster that's

police released this video of a man with a skateboard saying that he set one of the fires. investigators don't think this person is using gasoline or really anything to set the fires. he is simply lighting whatever is in the trash. >> we're assuming that the individual is either using a cigarette lighter or matches and dropping them in or possibly smoking materials and igniting common combustibles, paper, trash, everything that we would normally throw away. >> investigators cannot say set. but they do say that the number another is quite suspicious. sarasota deputies are asking for your help to track down two wanted bank robbers. we're told that two guys walked into and demanded money and drove off in a dark colored sedan. one had a gun in his waistband.

you know anything about the case call crime stoppers. you could be eligible for a cash reward. a spring hill man facing charges after a deputy says he hit a woman with his car. he drove off, circled back and slammed into the woman on a sidewalk. he claim it was an accident. he says his brakes locked up. according to deputies, evidence shows that the suspect never hit the brakes until after the victim was hit. and abc action news is committed to taking action against domestic violence. if you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, you can call the statewide hotline at 1(800)500- 1119. we also have information on our website, facebook and twitter feed. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. good evening, everybody.

wildfire page. 50 wildfires burning across the state. some are controlled burns, some are brush fires. this is that time of the year when you get temperatures very warm, in the mid 80s. even though the dew points are high, we haven't had a lot of rain. we are getting that moisture though and the visibility has certainly been an issue the last few morning. looking at futurecast with our fog forecaster, it will be first thing in the morning. some areas down near zero. overnight tonight, fog on the increase. by the weekend, rain will be on the increase. we will talk about that in a couple minutes. >> thanks, denis. a carjacking fiery crash and a missing dog. a crazy string of events playing out in volusia county. a man jumped into a stopped suv in deland this morning. look at the video. the female driver jumped ow. the thief drove off with the woman's golden retriever still in the vehicle. minutes later it crashed into a pole and caught on fire.

suspect to safety but the dog was nowhere to be found. luckily the dog was found six its owner. need. we teamed up with abc news for an exclusive investigation into the high prices being charged by the nation's largest air ambulance service. what he found. >> it's a problem that we have been hearing about for years and first showed up when we were investigating the high cost of trauma care in florida. the big bills associated with air ambulance services. patients facing charges between $30,000 to $70,000 for rides insurance companies usually only pick up a small part of the bills, leaving patients to pay the rest. these are some of the lawsuits

the people right here in the bay area. abc's brian ross uncovered it's something going on all over the country. >> people are stuck with these huge bills. they don't know what to do. they end up in court or being hounded by debt collectors or face the possibility of losing their homes or declaring bankruptcy. >> we introduce you to some of the people who have faced these issues and tell what you they're doing about it coming up at 11:00. >> thank you, adam. an apartment complex pool shut down after orange county authorities say high levels of chlorine sick inned five children and sent one to the hospital. those chlorine levels double what they should be. emergency crews saying the children were choking and vomiting. that pool is now closed until the issue can be addressed. bubba the love sponge was a big no-show this afternoon at the hulk hogan trial in pinellas county.

videotaped deposition where his ex-wife talks about making the video. heather cole says she didn't know she was being recorded when she had sex with hulk hogan and said she didn't know how the video got into the hands of gawker media. as for bubba, he sent his him. hogan is suing gawker for $100 million in damages. tragedy tonight in texas. a fire sweeping through a humane society building, killing 67 dogs inside. investigators believe the fire was caused by a bad dryer. the organization is now asking for foster families for the animals that survived as well as donations of blankets, dog and cat food and cat litter. repairs also. tampa voters may have one more decision to make in its way. the nc -- the naacp is pushing

>> people have been stopped every day. >> reporter: so-called biking while black tickets have dropped according to the chair frank redrick but only because the chief is using discretion to cut down on ticket statistics. >> tampa is one of the largest cities of its size that has no ameaningful community oversight of policing. >> reporter: tampa for justice and naacp are calling for an initiative to bring a investigative panel one that citizens could appeal to directly. a panel that would have its own budget and staff. results. and what we are seeing is that they need to be the beginning into local naacp president benny small criticized the

january, largely appointed by bob buckhorn. he is headed to washington, d.c. friday. >> i have been invited by the united states statusy vile rights to come up and be part of a national panel that will be discussing ticketing. >> reporter: the group must raise more than 21,000 signatures by july's end to get the initiative on the ballot. as tampa waits for a department of justice report on tampa's bik ticketing. tampa, i'm carson chambers, abc action news. >> still to come, changing a flat tire changed his life forever. how that simple act cost a tampa man both of his legs. and the warning that he wants you to hear tonight. and booby trapped bras. the defenses that are meant to keep women safe while they work out alone. and look outside over apollo beach. a few clouds out there.

lower down to the ground, meaning fog. morning. here is a look ahead at world news tonight. >> donald trump's new warning tonight. could there be riots if the party tries to block him if there's a contested convention. we learned of a key phone call late today. chaos. his own. after abc action news right

>> i still can't look because it's so traumatic. >> changing a flat tire leaves a tampa man a double amputee now this 24-year-old is facing a future of uncertainty. he is opening up to jacqueline in an effort to warn other drivers on the road. >> reporter: anthony municipal owes can be bare watching nurses change his bandages.

there or rather what is not. >> my right leg and then my left leg. >> reporter: munoz got a flat tire while driving on interstate 75. he pulled off on to the shoulder near bushnell and put his hazard lights on. it was 2:00 a.m. on february 3rd. >> in a split second, i noticed she was coming way too close and then i seen her put her turn signal on. and i heard the horn just blaring at us. and i just realized she wasn't going to stop. >> reporter: with his back turned trying to pull a spare tire out of the trunk, the driver of this red car hit munoz, pinning him between two cars. >> my heart stopped because i didn't see he was breathing. >> reporter: he was conscious but couldn't feel his legs. >> they're still like -- like a nightmare but --

legs were broken. when he awoke from surgery, doctors had tough news. they had to amputate both his legs just above his knees. >> this is just how my new lifestyle is and it sucks. >> reporter: back in the hospital fighting an infection, he keeps his rosary close and wants to know why the driver didn't move to the left lane had you been paying attention, none of this would have happened. >> reporter: in tampa, abc action news. >> well, tonight a woman is helping women stay safe while staying in shape. she has patented and designed booby trap bras. it's a way for women to safely store a special knife or pepper spray in their bra that they can get to if attacked. jennifer came up with this idea after a man tried to grab her while she was running on a wooded trail near her home in texas. the just in case knife bra

knife sold separately and the just in case pepper spray bra sells for $49.99. this next story has people going wild on our facebook and twitter pages. a willie wonka inspired restaurant coming to orlando. can you believe it? it's slate today open later this year. menu items include milk shakes called chocolate times five and espresso buzz. it also features unique twists on foods like burgers and pasta. >> i wonder if they will have the good egg or the bad egg. >> yeah. such a classic. get in. >> that would be cool. >> talking about facebook. i threw this out there because we have friends who have been skiing the last week or so. >> it's spring break. >> i always thought the beach

but a lot of folks have gone skiing. not so much on facebook. we asked do you prefer skiing or the beach. 88% picked the beach. my question is would it be this beach? look at the main sail. they are fogged in or socked in. my director says there is wicked fog going on out there. as was the case the last couple of days, the fog will be rolling in right on through the evening and the overnight hours. where there isn't so much fog, it's beautiful. it's summer like with temperatures in the mid to upper 80s across the anterior counties. right along the beach, cooler with the water temperature in the lower 70s. tomorrow morning, waking up to upper 60s to low 70s. there will be more fog out there. it will be dense across part of the area, especially along the coastline. be sure to check out ivan first thing in the morning. there could be dense fog advisories in effect.

st. pete partly sunny and 73 degrees. cooler. i suspect there is fog rolling in there as well. here is the satellite picture. really no changes to what we have had the last couple of days. high dew points. the moisture coming in off of the gulf. that translates into fog. the forecast model showed it last night. they show it tonight as well. by wake-up tomorrow morning, we could be easily socked in. but by 10:00, poof, it's gone. then we have a sunny day. we're back into the mid 80s. our futurecast is picking up storms up north tomorrow. what happens is sometimes we have what we call an outflow boundary and it can create additional showers. i'm trying to bring that in friday morning. i'm not sold on that yet. check us out at 11:00. in my opinion right now, i think our rain chances will be highest not thursday or friday, but saturday. things are beginning to work themselves out in terms of timing it out. friday you should be okay. saturday, showers and maybe

from around midday through the evening hours on saturday. sunday will be the better of the two days. i'm not ready to say it will be sunny. i don't think it will be. but it won't be as stormy or rainy as saturday will be. that may help you make your plans now. temperatures back into the 70s along the coast. mid to upper 70s closer to the beach. and then mid to upper 80s east of i-75. a huge contrast in temps yet again tomorrow. there is a look at florida's most accurate 7-day. our best rain chances will be saturday into saturday evening. sunday the transitional day to much cooler weather on monday. look at that. highs on monday in the upper 60s. how many times are we going to talk about the inconsistency of our games? it's frustrating. it doesn't matter who we're playing. give an effort.

it pains in toe say it but the way that the lightning are getting pushed around on the ice, they have no shot in making a deep run in the playoffs. toronto had beat the night link last -- lightning last night. i'm beginning to think we're right. the bolts are wearing down and looking for games to take a breather. they look tired. this is not what you want to see in the home stretch with 12 season. >> we have a long way to go and a lot of tough teams to play. and you're not going to win every game. let's be honest. this is the national hockey league. all of the teams are good teams and battling. but your effort, your structure and all those things that come into play, there was no purpose to what we were doing. >> all right. we will see if the lightning can reload tomorrow night

as coop said, it doesn't get easier to the finish line. former buccaneer head coach smith may be hacked off because of his firing but he is laughing all the way to the bank. his six-year deal with illinois could pay him $29 million. that includes bonuses like one million if he stays for three years and another one million if he does all six. and coming up tonight, at 11:00, we will hear from the two bay area guys who hope to provide a local boost to the rays. that's tonight at 11:00. we're back in a minute and

>> so this is florida, right? this is the sky way. here is the one bridge. let's go to the other one. >> wow. >> what a difference. >> that's florida. tomorrow morning, same deal. we will update it at 11:00. >> continuing coverage on abcactionnews.com. >> and we will see you back here at 11:00.

tonight, the supreme court showdown. the president names his pick. a judge who took on timothy mcveigh after oklahoma city. who took on the unibomber. but now he faces republican leaders who have intention of taking any action. tonight, the phone call the republican leader who called the judge. the race for the white house. fresh off major victories for donald trump, tonight, trump's new warning. could there be riots if republicans try to block him at a contested convention? new details emerging tonight. the young, undercover detective shot and killed by a fellow officer. pierre thomas, standing by. the deadly storm hitting in the middle of the country. drivers losing control. and now five confirmed tornadoes.